Days 33-36 -- Serengetti, Nrongorogoro Crater, Oludvai Gorge

After the first few days of eventful game driving we made the trek to Tanzania...roads in Africa are rough and constant road blocks and detours...anyways..i've seen almost all of the Big 5 - buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard and still searching for the elusive rhino. We got to our campsite in Arush, which is adjoined by a snake park. No real crazy snakes and I didn't get an opportunity to wrap one around me so pretty disappointing. The next morning we had to get up early for our 2 night excursion to the Serengetti. Sleeping in the tent has taken a little getting used to as well as the constant mosquito repellant to avoid malaria.

After a 3 hour drive we arrived at the Serengetti...at the entrance where the truck stopped to pay our fees, a baboon came running down the hill, jumped through a window into one of our trucks and snatched somebody's lunch box....classic site and i'll have to get someone who was able to take a picture to send it to me. As we entered we were greeted by a lion couple in the middle of mating season. We hung out for a few minutes and watched them mate...unbelievable! Lions mate every 15-20 minutes during this time and one of the other trucks decided to sit around and wait for the second session...each session lasts about 5 seconds! Continued our way in and saw the wildebeast migration...spectacular site with tens of thousands making the migration south to avoid the rainy season...mixed in there were zebras and buffalo, but i didn't see any lions taking advantage of the easy prey. We made our way to the campsite which was an unfenced area in the middle of the Serengetti. Was awaken in the middle of hte night to a few hyenas who decided to scavenge through our dinner in the trash can near teh kitchen area so of course I didn't leave the tent....

The next day we had another game drive on the way out....spotted leopards, giraffes, more zebras, hippos, crocs...too many to list. On the way out we passed more of the migration and saw the same lion couple...only they had moved to the other side of the road. We made our way to the Ngorongoro crater which was formed ages ago by a collaped volcano. We camped atop the crater and I had a crazy incident with my clothes. Our Land Rover had to change batteries during our time in the Serengetti and some of the battery acid leaked onto my clothes...thinking it was rain, i let it pass, but as I sat near the campfire, my clothes started dissolving away...check the pictures...ha! Anyways, we sat around, had a few beers in the cold weather atop the crater since we had an early game drive the next day. On this drive I caught a glimpse of the rhino, saw flamingos along the sodium lake...the crater is the most densely populated game area in africa and i'm definitely coming back! On the way back to Arusha we stopped at Olduvai gorge..one of the oldest places on earth where human remains have been found and also where they found Lucy. Learned about some history and saw the excavations in progress...looks like they got a lot more to uncover.

Day 30-32 -- Masai Mara National Park

Joined the tour group for our pre-departure meeting on Saturday. Really young and energetic group of people so we should have fun over the next month. Out of 24 people on the truck, we got 6 indians...how ironic. There is myself, Rev/Vamsi (from hyderbad), Sahil (UK), Derek (Canada) and Natasha (Australia). The first day we took off for Masai Mara National Park. After a long, extremely bumpy ride that took 6 hours we went for an afternoon game drive...amazing! In a span of 2 hours we saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, a pride of male lions, a cheetah chasing a leopard...among other wildlife...The driver said he hasn't seen game like that in such a short time in his 18 year career! Anyways, we stayed there for 2 nights, had a total of 5 drives, but none lived up to the first one. Still saw lion cubs, a female pride and countless herds of lions. At the Mara we got to stay in fixed tents that had ensuite toilets and showers so it feels like the Holiday Inn of camping. Anyways, lots to update so I'm keeping them short.

Day 29 -- London to Nairobi

Woke up at 6AM since my flight to Nairobi was at 10AM. Made my way over to the airport, checked in and wandered around to kill some time before boarding. Picked up a few books since I'm likely to have lots of time on this safari. Flight was delayed, a woman looked really ill and BA didn't want to take the risk of taking off on the 9 hour flight with her in that condition...she tried to stay on, but an hour later they forced her off. The flight was mixed, between native Africans and Westerners going on safaris, it was packed. The whole day in the air, we arrived in Nairobi at 11pm. Cleared through passport control, picked up my bags, through customs and my ride was waiting for me...thankfully. We started the drive to the hotel and I can see why they say to be careful in Nairobi. Nairobi at night was definitely sketch and its the first time I wore my money belt on this trip. As much as people think the Middle East is unsafe, I felt really comfortable, but here you can just see that you must be more precautious. Anyways, went to bed early since I have a free day Saturday to check out the city.

Day 28 -- Cairo to London

Today hasn't been the best day so its going to be short...Early flight out of Cairo and no egyptian pounds left so I picked up a Snicker's bar for breakfast...maybe it was the lack of sleep..or chocolate on an empty stomach...or just Egypt getting the best of me...anyways, we'll just say that I haven't been able to hold anything down. I think you can figure it out. Arrived in London at my cousin's place, the weather is a miserable 50 degrees...definitely need to bundle up. Did all my laundry, going to meet David Fernandez in Notting Hill later and then I'll come home and repack. I hope this illness passes pretty quickly since I have a 10AM flight to Kenya tomorrow (Friday)...Safari starts on Saturday morning so I don't know my internet situation...i'll check in when i can...until nexxt time!

Egypt thoughts: Great country, highly suggest everyone make a trip here sometime. Lots of ruins and history to see, but make sure you make a trip to the beaches since they're a good change of pace from all the hassles of Cairo/Luxor/Aswan. Independent travel is tough so be patient and all the baksheesh (tipping) gets annoying...sometimes you wish they'd do a magic trick to earn the money instead of just expecting it! Oh yeah, and don't even consider renting a car in Cairo, crossing the street is hard enough b/c you really do put your life at stake since there are no lanes, traffic light and everyone just goes however they feel. I have a feeling though that some of the Asian countries later may be a little crazier...

Day 27 - Cairo (Museum and Markets)

So my last night in Dahab was pretty memorable. Met some really cool people and one guy David from Canada will actually be traveling solo through SE Asia at the exact time and we have the same plan but nothing figured out...we plan to stay in touch and hopefully trek it together. Anyways, a group of us went out dinner at Sakkara, waterfront restaurant near our hotel. The host told us about some good off the menu specials...I got the barracuda which was about $13 USD...pretty steep for Egypt, but the fish was amazing. White meat, light, and extremely tasty...i certainly will order it again if I see it elsewhere. We put down a few Stellas and shared some sheesha and it was time for my bus. As soon as I got on the bus, I was out...i guess lack of sleep for 2 days will do that. Nobody woke me up to check my ticket/passport, but I don't know if they tried and I didn't respond. Got into Cairo at 6:15AM, jumped in a cab to the hostel to drop off my stuff and take a nap before hitting the Egyptian museum. Wandered around in there for 2-3 hours...the best and worst museum I've ever been to. Best because there is sooo much stuff to see, worst b/c they take no care of the history, allowing you touch the statues, tombs, etc. and nothing seems to be labeled so you can only guess what you are looking at. They had a King Tut exhibit which was fascinating...he had everything in his tomb made out of gold, from the chairs, stools, even the nails that sealed boxes...unbelievable! After taking in a ton of ancient history, I made my way back to the hostel, picked up some street food and waited for some other guests to get ready to hit the markets. The markets in Cairo require extensive negotiation and I felt like I got pretty good deals....Starting price of 450 pounds, I paid 35 pounds...one guy threatened to kill me in a joking way b/c he said i made him lose money...i doubt he would have sold it to me if he did. Anyways, picked up some cool stuff, including a sheesha pipe so everyone can see what its all about when I get back! Made it back to the hostel, had dinner and went out to a local coffeshop to wrap up the evening since it was an early 8AM flight on Thursday...

Day 26 - St. Katherine Monestary

The bus left from the hotel at 11:15 pm and we had a 2+ hour drive to St. Katherine's Monestary. I left my passport in the safe so when we hit a checkpoint it became a little tricky. They almost made the entire van turn back, but the driver convinced them to write down his plates and to verify that I was on the van when we were on our way back. Not sure why they were so concerned since the area we were going to isn't close to any borders nor would I want to stay in the mountains in the freezing cold. Anyways, we got to the monestary about 1:30am, met our guide and started our hike to the top of Mt. Sinai to watch the sunrise. The moon was our source of light since the guide didn't have a torch which was odd...after a long 2 1/2 hour hike, we arrived at the top. Definitely took a few breaks since this was probably the biggest workout of the trip to date...well worth it though. At the top, I got a blanket and sat on the rocks bundled up in about 4 layers. At about 5am you saw the sun start perching out and the horizon glowing in orange. Over the next hour we watched the sunrise which cast a great view of the surrounding landscape as you can see in the pics. Sun came up and it was time to head back down. Going down only took a little over an hour, but my legs are definitely sore and I haven't slept in over 36 hours so I'll crash easily tonight. I plan to watch the sunset this evening to make the day completely worthwhile. Got back to the hotel, packed and checked out. I ran into Phillip and Maxi who I hung out with at Abu Simbel...they arrived this morning and are staying at the same place...Small world this backpacking life. We plan to get some beers and I can fill them in on Dahab's offerings since I have a night bus to Cairo at 10pm. I hope this bus trip is better than the last one...

Day 25 - Dahab (Blue Hole and Sinai)

Today was pretty cool. Woke up had some breakfast and then lounged on the patio overlooking the Red Sea for a little while. At 11am, a group of us from the hotel left to go snorkeling in the Blue Hole. The ride out there was pretty intense...you had a choice of camel or 4x4...we chose the 4x4. After a bumpy 30 minutes we arrived, picked up our equipment and jumped in. I got to test the camera again and it worked...I'm really wondering when its just going to die. The reef is literally right off the beach and as soon as you jumped in you're surrounded by marine life. Not a fish expert, but I saw some cool looking fish and was able to take some pictures which I'll upload soon. After a few hours in the water, skin wrinkly, I got out to get some lunch and just laid around on some chairs. We headed back to the hotel where I got caught up on the journal since I hadn't made any entries in like 5 days. It feels good to just be lazy these past 2 days and not have a day full of museums, temples, etc...but at the same time its getting old here as diving/snorkeling to keep the days occupied gets expensive. Tonight I'm going on a late night hike to St. Catherine's Monesatry atop Mt. Sinai to watch the morning sunrise...i've heard its really cold up there so I'm wondering why I signed up for it...